When you’re dealing with a high-energy dog, you want them to burn energy in fun or positive ways so that your dog
- Feels happier
- Is less anxious
- Has less energy to destroy things and bark all night (less energy to misbehave)
Getting your dog the right toy can help you achieve these goals… and this article will show you the best toys for high-energy dogs.
But what makes a toy… the perfect toy?
There are 5 qualities that can help you choose a toy for your high energy dog.
Some of these qualities are mandatory… others depend on your preferences.
You must consider:
- How much energy your dog burns while playing with the toy
- The durability of the toy
- The effort you want to put in yourself
- The space your dog has to play in
- The mental challenge the toy provides for your dog
Let’s go through these qualities in more detail to help you decide which dog toys are best for you.
Afterwards, I’ll give you a list of toys that meet all or most of these qualities.
What Will I Learn?
5 Relevant Dog Toy Qualities
1. Toys That Make Your Dog Expend Energy
When you’re dealing with a high-energy dog, this is mandatory.
You want a toy that tires your dog out.
If your dog doesn’t get tired when playing with the toy, he’ll still have tons of energy to misbehave, bark at night, destroy stuff, etc.
The toys I list below all have this quality.
2. Toys That Don’t Break
Will your dog toy last? Or will your dog obliterate it within hours, sending it to the cemetery of defunct dog toys that no longer provide satisfaction?
Durability is important if you want to avoid wasting money on toys that keep breaking.
As I go through the list of toys later on in this article, you’ll find that most are long-lasting toys.
3. Toys That Don’t Require Much Energy From You
If you love exercising with your dog (like running together at the park, or throwing balls for him to fetch), then that’s awesome…
But if you’re not too thrilled about getting tired yourself, then you’ll be happy to discover dog toys that require minimal effort from you.
4. Toys That Don’t Require Much Space
Being able to tire your dog out even when you have limited space is especially important if you have a small back yard or no back yard at all. Two out of three dog toys on the list below fulfill this quality.
5. Toys That Provide Mental Stimulation
Not only do dogs love to consume energy, but they also love tasks and challenges that provide mental stimulation. When a toy gives your dog a mental challenge, it allows him to develop his mind and sharpen his problem solving skills.
In particular, the Brain Training For Dogs course teaches you that a smarter dog is a better behaved dog (Brain Training For Dogs, provides your dog 20 games to keep his mind occupied)
Specifically, the “Kong Wobbler” toy listed below has this quality. The other two toys I cover are the flirt pole, and the spring pole.
And now I’ll go through each of the toys, one by one.
3 Dog Toys to Tire Your Dog Out
These are dog toys that are energy consuming for your dog, but not for you.
The first toy I’ll talk about is the flirt pole.
1. The Flirt Pole
You can use a flirt pole to
- Play with your dog
- Tire him out
- Conduct training exercises
What’s a Flirt Pole?
A flirt pole is a tuggy toy attached with a bungee string to a big pole.
It’s pretty simple, and in fact, it’s like a big cat toy for dogs.
The dogs get to chase it, chomp at it, and get lots of exercise in just a small area of space.
So even if you have a tiny yard, you can use a flirt pole to get your dog completely out of breath.
Training Your Dog With a Flirt Pole
Now not only can you use a flirt pole to exhaust your hyperactive dog so that he has less energy to bark at night, but you can also use a flirt pole to help with your dog’s training.
To maximize your flirt pole experience, it’s a good idea to have some rules in place.
Playing with a flirt pole gets even easier once you’re able to teach your dog some basic commands.
The video below demonstrates how to use a flirt pole to play with your dog while training it to listen to commands.
You can use a flirt pole to reinforce the “sit” command… you can train him to “wait”… and you can teach it to control its energy… which is crucial when you’re dealing with a hyperactive dog.
Basically they need to be able to get excited, but without jumping up all over you and misbehaving.
Dog Playing With Flirt Pole Video
In the video above, the dog “Nina” gets excited, catches the flirt pole toy, but then she backs up and she sits (what a good girl!).
Then as soon as she sits, her trainer gives her a “yes” positive command, and she also gets the reward of being able to play again.
Here being able to play with the flirt pole is already a reward for dogs so a treat isn’t necessary (same applies to fetch).
You can get a durable flirt pole on Amazon:
Flirt Pole Benefits:
- This toy can quickly exhaust your dog
- This version is an improved model using customer feedback from the original flirt pole.
- The lure is made of durable polyester
- Can be used in limited space
- Requires little energy from you
- Can be used for training
Next on the list is the Kong Wobbler.
2. Kong Wobbler
The Kong Wobbler is an indestructible food dispenser with a weird shape that gets your dog moving around while simultaneously providing a mental challenge.
When filled with dog treats or dog kibble, your dog will work to get the food reward that hides inside.
As your dog bats the Kong Wobbler around, food will fall out, but only a bit at a time, which is great for dogs who typically gobble down their food too fast.
Once the treats start falling out, the dog learns that moving the Kong Wobbler around provides a reward, which prompts him to keep moving it around in an ongoing energy-consuming process.
Kong Wobbler Video
You can check out the Kong Wobbler on Amazon:
Kong Wobbler Benefits:
- Indestructible dog toy
- Consumes energy (keeps him entertained)
- Provides a mental challenge (gets him problem solving)
- Makes your dog work for food (great for dogs who usually eat too fast)
- Works if you have limited space
- Works even when you’re not around
3. The Spring Pole
Playing tug-of-war with your dog is one of the best ways to really get them exhausted.
Here are a bunch of tug-of-war dog toys that are listed on Amazon.
But if you want your dog to play tug-of-war even when you’re away, look no further than the spring pole.
The spring pole is a springy rope or bungee rope that has a tug toy attached to the end of it. The spring pole is then tied to a beam or tree branch so that it hangs down.
When dogs learn to play with a spring pole, they love to jump, tug on the toy, and burn their energy even when you’re not there.
Autopilot tug-of-war. Boom.
Check out a durable spring pole on Amazon:
Spring Pole Benefits:
- Gets your dog exhausted
- Works when you’re not around
- Even helps your dog build muscle
Now you might have some questions and concerns regarding the spring pole.
So here’s a video that covers common questions people have regarding the spring pole
The video above answers questions such as…
- Is the spring pole only meant for fighting dogs?
- Will it make your dog aggressive?
- Why do pitbulls like spring poles?
- What are the benefits of the spring pole?
- Can your dog get hurt using the spring pole?
The best toys for high-energy dogs are durable, mentally stimulating for the dog, they make the dog expend energy, and they require low input of energy from you.
Some toys don’t even require much space, and can be used in a small back yard.
Look through the toys above, compare them to your situation, and see which one is right for you.